Summary: Severus takes the competitive dueling world by storm.
oOo
A Prince Rising
By Syl Francis
oOo
Chapter Fifteen
After the rest of the club members left with a few sympathetic glances tossed at Severus, Foster walked around the younger wizard and looked him up and down. "All right, Snape, you definitely have the moves against an intermediate level duelist. Let's see how you fare against an expert."
"Don't worry, Snape. To keep things on an even keel, we'll only cast verbally today," Hawkes reassured Severus.
For the next hour, first Foster, then Hawkes took him through his paces. They tried several ways to break through his personal shield and his concentration, but to no avail.
"Fumos!" Foster cried, opening with a smokescreen spell. As the duelists were suddenly enshrouded in a dense fog, they had to look closely to see where the other could be standing.
Severus put his black clothing to good use by transfiguring his black jacket into a black cape, which he wrapped around himself. He moved silently in the pea soup, his years of sneaking around the Hogwarts corridors to avoid the Marauders proving useful at the moment. A sudden displacement in the gloom gave him a split second's warning.
Diving to the left and strengthening his shield in the direction he'd seen movement, Severus muttered, "Whirlenvindr!" A windstorm suddenly blew in, easily dissipating the thick fog. Simultaneously, the two duelists rapidly cast a spell against their opponent.
Foster twirled his wand in a circle and cried, "Incendio!" A rope of fire shot out of his wand and flew toward Severus.
Severus quickly waved his wand in a wide arc and countered with, "Glaciem!" Instantly, a sheet of ice encased the fire rope, dousing the flames and dropping the temperature inside the protective ward by several degrees. Before either duelist could take advantage, the five-minute buzzer went off.
Foster and Hawkes both clapped Severus on the shoulder, grinning like mad. "Snape, that was like far, far out! I'm stoked, man, stoked!" Foster exclaimed.
Hawkes snorted. "Watch it, man. You're channeling your inner teen witch."
Foster mock-glared at him. "Sit on it!"
Severus listened fascinated. "I understand the words. It's your usage that's lost on me."
"Chill, man. We're just messing with you. It's what passes for current Muggle slang here in the States." Foster grinned. "Sometimes the older wizarding generation's not too sure what the Muggles are saying either, so a lot of us younger ones have made it our mission to learn it and use it. It's just too much fun to obfuscate the elders."
"They call it 'Muggle-speech' and tolerate it because they want us to be able to easily function in the Muggle world," Hawkes added.
Severus nodded. This was just another item in a long list of differences between the American wizarding world and the British one. What must it be like to have grown up in such an open, accepting society? He had only been here one week and was already dreading the day that he would have to return home.
After a short break, they set up the dueling ward again, and this time Severus went up against Hawkes. This bout went similarly to the previous one, except that this time Severus managed to disarm his opponent just as the buzzer sounded. The rest of the hour passed quickly, with Severus dueling for five minutes and resting for five. After 45 minutes of this, Foster called a halt and had the other two join him in the small break room.
The final 15 minutes, the three dissected each of the duels, step-by-step, spell-by-spell. Each wizard had to reconstruct why he picked a particular spell and not another. They analyzed each spell from casting to hitting the target or to being countered.
"What was that windstorm charm you called up? It's a new to me," Hawkes said interestedly. Severus felt his face heat up suddenly in embarrassment. He'd been so caught up in the duel that he forgot himself and used a spell not on the approved list.
"I'm sorry...I just forgot the list for minute and used one of my own spells. It won't happen again, I promise!"
"Hey, chill, dude," Foster said easily. "We all make mistakes. Anyway, if you register your invented spells with the AmerWizGov and the rating they're assigned meets with the NCWA specs, then you can petition them and have your spell added to the list of sanctioned spells."
As they analyzed each success or failure, Foster suggested other spells they might have used instead. At the end of the hour, each wizard felt that the time had been well spent and that Severus was going to make a formidable addition to the dueling team.
What fascinated the two Americans was that Severus could raise his shield automatically without conscious thought, and then, he could strengthen or weaken it as needed. To top it off, Severus could cast offensively while maintaining his shield without affecting its strength.
"And that, my young British friend, is an ability that I wish you could teach the rest of us, but I have a feeling that it's become so automatic to you that you may not even know how you're doing it." Foster looked at Hawkes questioningly.
"I think that if he tries to analyze how he's doing it, he could gum up the works and then he'd be unable to call it up." Hawkes grinned at Severus. "It looks like we may have to raise your membership status from 'Novice' to 'Intermediate.' I think before the summer session is over, you'll be classified as 'Expert' for later meets. Will you be returning for the fall term?"
"I'm still not sure I'll be accepted, but I will be applying if Dean Haliwinkle gives her endorsement."
"Snape, if Haliwinkle gives you her endorsement, you'll be 'in like Flynn'! I guarantee it," Foster said reassuringly. Then he and Hawkes burst out laughing when their youngest duelist looked confused and asked, "Who's Flynn...?"
oOo
Shortly before 1:00 p.m. that afternoon, Severus made a quick run to his suite to shower and change for the pool. He'd again caught a quick bite on the run at the Student Union, immediately following the additional dueling session with Foster and Hawkes. He had left the Dueling Hall almost soaked to the skin after his grueling workout against the two senior Potioneers. He was excited, however. In only 45 minutes with them, he had learned enough new skills to make his next meeting with the Marauders interesting to say the least.
As he showered, he did something he hadn't done in a long time—he hummed under his breath at first, and then without even noticing it, began singing a Muggle song he'd heard on the American Wizarding Wireless—"Desperado."
"Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out ridin' fences for so long now
Oh, you're a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin' you
Can hurt you somehow..."
Since he didn't own any swimwear, Severus transfigured a pair of jeans into modest, black swim trunks. He also put on a fresh green polo shirt with a Slytherin crest on the right breast pocket. He then changed his trainers into a pair of low, slip-on deck shoes. He'd seen an advertisement for a pair in the local paper, The Salem Gazette, and liked them for casual wear. He re-strapped his wand holster to his right arm and replaced his wand, disillusioning the whole thing. Satisfied, he grabbed a towel, suntan lotion, and headed out.
The rest of the afternoon passed in comfortable companionship with his friends. Eric and the girls were fun and easy to get along with. They had a friendly water war. "No wands allowed!" insisted Anne, only to turn around and zap Eric with a low-level stinging hex.
"In the words of the world's most famous rabbit, Bugs Bunny!" Eric intoned, mock-seriously. "You know, that this of course. Means. War!" He suddenly apparated immediately behind Anne and grabbed her, dunking her several times.
Grinning at his friend's revenge, Severus figured that Anne's shrieks could be heard clear across to the Quidditch pitch. Catching Jennifer's eye, Severus held up his hands in surrender. Laughing, Jennifer tossed him the ball and began playing a game of one-on-one water polo. At one point, they struggled to steal the ball from the other only to have it slip away from them and make its way over to where Anne and Eric were still going at it.
Severus studied their body language for a while and finally asked in casual disinterest, "Do you think they will ever figure it out?"
"What? Figure what out?" Jennifer asked.
Severus shrugged. "That they like each other."
"Like each other? Eric and Anne? You mean, as in 'like' like?" Jennifer asked surprised. "That's ridiculous! I mean—they fight like cats and dogs! Besides, Anne always tells me when she has the hots for someone. She's never even talked about Eric—!" At Severus' skeptical look, Jennifer hurried on. "I mean—of course, she has. But when she talks about Eric, it's to complain about him! I...no! She couldn't—she doesn't! I'd know!"
Severus looked at her without saying anything, just let her bluster her way through a series of excuses. When she finally wound down, he merely raised an eyebrow and pointed at Eric and Anne with his chin.
Eric held Anne in his arms, while she struggled half-heartedly, laughing musically at whatever he was saying to her. Eric's own dark expression was offset by a soft look around his eyes and a slight quirk at the corner of his mouth.
"Oh, my," was all Jennifer could think to say...
oOo
The month of June passed in a similar vein, Severus advancing in his Potions, Spellwork, and warding. He approached Dean Haliwinkle early in the second week and presented his proposal for the topical pain potion. She excitedly gave him the go ahead to use one of the many private labs that were set aside for student projects.
A pain potion that would be strong enough to ease the transition from human to werewolf would be a great breakthrough, especially if Severus could develop it in time to test concurrently with the Wolfsbane potion. Haliwinkle decided to ensure that a lab would be specially reserved in Severus' name for the rest of the summer.
oOo
Severus then visited Professor Newman during his instructor's open door hours and spoke at length about some of the spells he had created in the past few years, and a the few of ones he was developing currently. Severus would never entrust anyone with the Sectumsempra or some of his more harmful hexes.
"Is there someway that I can get a creator's license or credit for them? If so, how do I go about it?"
Newman studied the documents with Severus' invented spells, surprised someone so young had already managed such a difficult achievement. "Muffliato, Levicorpus, Whirlenvindr, and...What's this? An intermediate-level hex that speeds up the growth of a person's toenails? That's downright mean, Mr. Snape," he grinned, amused. "I can only imagine the pain and discomfort that would come from that."
"Professor, I'm not sure if sharing my spells with the world is a good idea because there's a war looming back home in England. I'd hate for any of my spells to be used by the forces of Dark against the Light. But I also hate the idea of others stealing my ideas and using them against me, only to have them turn around and take credit for the spells, too."
"What I see here are not exactly high-level charms or transfigurations that would cause great harm, but I can see how they could be used offensively in a duel. Keeping a few close to the vest would be advantageous during a war, as it would take the opposing side by surprise."
Newman spoke seriously, wanting to encourage his brilliant young student, while helping him reach a difficult decision. He understood Severus' reluctance to publish his spells, and felt honored that he had trusted him this much with his ideas. There was nothing more humiliating than having your own spells turned against you. Newman knew that from first hand experience. But he was also a scholar who appreciated the development of new ideas and discovery of new concepts.
"However, this Muffliato is absolutely brilliant, Mr. Snape! In fact, if it has never been published before, I recommend you submit it for your end of term project. I guarantee you'll blow away the competition!"
"Thank you, Professor," Severus said quietly, "but that's one of the spells that I thought would be of help to the Light during the war." 'If they'll listen to me,' he added in bitter silence. "But I do have something that shows some inventive Charms and even Protective Enchantments. I'm not sure if this is silly, but I've found that it really helps speed up revising and organization." Severus then showed Newman his own Charmed journal, and walked him through the many Charms and Protections.
"Mr. Snape, there is nothing silly about this journal. In fact, if you can charm another either identically or with new, but similar Charms, and if you document each Charm and Protection that you have added, I think that it would make an excellent end-of-term project, too," Newman said reassuringly. "And, between you and me, I believe that you could even be able to market it and make some real money here. I know that when I was going through my own Mastery, I would've been very happy to have had a journal such as this."
Newman looked at the object in his hand and then at the young wizard with something akin to envy. Who knew that this would be the summer that one of the most brilliant young wizards he had ever taught would pass through his classes and basically make everyone around him seem dull by comparison, himself included? Newman knew that Severus was in the dueling club through Alan Foster's enthusiastic reports. It seemed that Newman would just have to take a much more active role as the club's sponsor. No telling what new spells Severus might invent on the spot.
After a moment, Newman realized that Severus was speaking and concentrated on his words. "...for taking the time to speak to me and also on your recommendation. I'll give it serious thought, I promise." Severus stood and executed a quick formal bow at his professor and left his office.
"Damn...brilliant and he has impeccable manners, too. Haliwinkle better think of way to keep him here. Would we cause an international incident if we didn't let him leave the country when the summer term ended?"
oOo
The next few weeks sped in blur of lectures, reading, labs, late nights of studying, and experimenting; however, it was not all work and no play. Severus enjoyed his practices with the Dueling Club and the five meets he competed in—winning four and one ending in a draw. Severus, with Foster's encouragement and Professor Newman's help, had submitted the Whirlenvindr spell to the AmerWizGov's Department of Charms and Transfigurations (DoC/T).
Severus had fully documented its incantation and wand movements in a wizarding government department form: WG Form SpC/T-41. (SpC/T stood for Spellwork: Charms and Transfiguration; 41 was simply a numerical assignment given to the form—41 out of hundreds of forms.)
Additionally, he and Foster had both included pensieve memories of the duel where he had used it. As each student had a differing perspective on the spell's effectiveness, the memories proved extremely helpful in the DoC/T's approval of the spell and assigning it a 5th Degree Spellwork designation.
The young wizards grinned in triumph at this last, because it meant that it could be used in dueling competition if approved by the NCWA. As a result, Severus petitioned the National Conference of Wizarding Athletics and within a week, his Whirlenvindr Charm was added to the sanctioned list. The entire process had taken less than a full week—unheard of when dealing with the Ministry of Magic in Britain.
At his first dueling meet, Severus cut an impressive figure in his new dueling robes—black, of course, with subtle green and silver piping. Underneath, he wore his usual, stiffly starched white button-down Oxford shirt with green and white striped tie, black trousers, and dragonhide boots. A small Prince family crest was appliqued onto the left side of his robes, just above his heart.
As he climbed up to the dueling stage, he and his opponent were introduced. "In the Novice class, our next duelists are Severus Tobias Prince-Snape from Great Britain, the creator of the new, exciting spell that is taking the Dueling Competitive World by storm—the Whirlenvindr!" The onlookers burst into sudden applause and cheers of approval, almost drowning out the name of his opponent.
Many sitting in the audience were also there for the competition, awaiting their own duels, and fully appreciated this new sanctioned spell. His opponent, a 'foolish wand-waver,' as Foster would say from the New Orleans School of Spells and Enchantments, also joined in the applause. Embarrassed at the unexpected round of accolades, Severus bowed stiffly at the judges and then at the audience.
Ironically, he didn't get the opportunity to use the Whirlenvindr in his first two competitions, but managed to win without it anyway.
What Severus had not expected, but on reflection should have anticipated, was that one of the members of the wizarding press in the audience happened to be a reporter from the Daily Prophet, wizarding Britain's foremost daily newspaper...
oOo
Lily looked up as the owl bringing the morning's post pecked at the kitchen window. She happily gave the owl a treat and the two sickles for her copy of the Daily Prophet. She was expecting a response from Alice Gibbon and Mary MacDonald to spend Saturday afternoon at Diagon Alley.
She quickly riffled through the mail, found a couple of advertisements to two new wizarding shops, one each in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley that caught her attention. New shops were always a welcome change to the almost stagnant-like wizarding status quo. The one in Diagon Alley was a goblin-run jewelry shop called, Grogkun's Jewelry and Gifts.
'Oooh...! That sounds cool!' Lily thought excitedly. Her mother's 40th birthday was in mid-August, and this could be just the place to get her something extra special for such a milestone birthday. She had asked Petunia to join her and her friends in today's excursion to Diagon Alley. Maybe they could check out the shop's offerings, and then if they found something they both agreed on, they could combine finances and buy it together.
Happily, both Alice and Mary agreed to meet her at Diagon Alley for lunch and shopping. Smiling, Lily set aside the Daily Prophet for later and began preparing breakfast for the family. Now that she had a part-time job, she really appreciated all the work that her mother went through to ensure each of her family members had a healthy and tasty breakfast before heading off to their respective workday.
Petunia walked in as soon as the bacon began sizzling, and immediately set to work, helping her sister. They worked companionably, neither speaking unless it was to ask for a utensil or a specific seasoning or ingredient. As Petunia prepared the toast, Lily set the table, placing everyone's cold drink of choice on their particular spot. Lily and Mrs. Evans preferred orange juice, while Mr. Evans and Petunia liked a small glass of milk with their breakfast. Everyone also drank tea, so she dutifully placed a tea cup next to the three Evans ladies' place settings, while her father got his extra-large 'Best Dad—Ever' mug. Once the bacon and eggs were done and placed in a warming pan, she put the kettle on the stovetop to heat the water. Both parents walked in as the kettle whistled that the water was ready.
Warm smiles and greetings were quickly exchanged by the family as they settled down to enjoy their breakfast. After a few minutes of "Girls, this tastes delicious!" and "Thank for breakfast, Lily...Petunia. What a wonderful surprise. You're going to spoil me!" the four ate quietly, enjoying their time together as a family.
After everyone had finished eating, they each settled back for a few minutes of quiet conversation and discussion of the day's plans. Mrs. Evans refreshed everyone's tea and Lily offered her father the local paper, the Cokeworth Register.
"And what are you girls doing today?" Mrs. Evans asked as she took a careful sip of her hot tea.
"Lily invited me to go to Diagon Alley with her and her friends today," Petunia said excitedly. She had a Very Important Date with Vernon the next weekend and was hoping to find something suitable to wear. Her smile practically glowed as she answered her mother, who in turn gave her a knowing look.
Lily oblivious to the silent undercurrent of her sister's conversation with their mother reached for the Daily Prophet. "I wonder what new, useless drivel this worthless rag is going to report today? Lucius Malfoy suffering through a windy day that ruined his carefully coifed hairdo, perhaps? Lady Parkinson showing more décolletage than perceived as 'decent' by Britain's Lost-in-the-Victorian Age wizarding society? Or, heaven help us all, James Potter and Sirius Black frolicking boyishly at the Potter's summer home in the French seaside?"
"Why do you read that rag anyway, Lily?" asked Petunia, exasperated. "I mean, like you said, it mostly 'reports'—and I use the term loosely—on pretty much useless activities."
"Because it's the most reliable—" Making air quotes, Lily rolled her eyes. "—wizarding paper. And I keep hoping they'll report something important on 'You-Know-Who' and his followers." She unfolded the paper as she spoke to her sister, and only then, glanced down at the front page. Her face paled instantly, her eyes widening at what she saw splashed across the front page.
There, above the fold were two full-color, wizarding photos of Severus, looking strikingly handsome in dueling robes. One photo had him looking somewhat embarrassed as the crowd applauded him. The other showed him, his shoulder length dark hair whipping around, as he fully extended his wand, handily taking down his opponent with a well-placed Expelliarmus. Although the photo had no sound, of course, it was obvious from his wand-movements and the ensuing burst of white light that crackled within the dueling wards what spell he had used against his opponent.
The caption below the first picture identified him as 'Severus Tobias Prince-Snape, currently enrolled in the Summer Institute of the Salem College of Potions and a Novice-level member of the Potioneers Dueling Club. Mr. Snape is also credited by the National Conference of Wizarding Athletics as the creator of a new, recently sanctioned spell, Whirlenvindr. (Not used by either contestant.)'
The second caption reported that Severus had '…taken down his opponent in under 30 seconds by opening with a powerful disarmament spell, capturing his opponent's wand, and then following through with an Incarcerous spell.' [Full story in page 3.]
In a daze, Lily had turned the page and again was met with a full-page splash. This time the photos were almost that of a movie reel, with each showing a short scene from the duel: Severus' wand tip exploding with power; his opponent falling back and his wand flying toward Severus who caught it easily; Severus' wand emitting a rope that wrapped itself around the fallen wizard.
Finally, there was a photo of both duelists bowing to the judges and then facing each other and shaking hands. Severus' opponent in a sign of good sportsmanship clapped him on the back, and they both waved at the audience as they left the dueling stage.
The accompanying story immediately showed that the reporter hadn't bothered interviewing Severus. Instead, he had talked to a few of the other students from the college and almost everyone who knew the Slytherin had nothing but praise in describing him.
'Man, Snape is one brilliant wizard! And boy what he can do with a wand on the dueling stage! And he's only a Novice! Wait until the fall term—he'll blow everyone out of the water!' This was from Alan Foster his team captain.
'Sexy voice—like a mug of hot, velvety chocolate on a cold winter day!' A co-ed, identified as Anne Murphy, a Spellwork classmate and friend claimed.
'Very hot!' from another co-ed, identified as Sarah Walcott. 'We like to ask him questions just so's we can listen to him talk. Oh, and that British accent! Yummy!'
The Dueling Club sponsor, Professor Newman, echoed the words of the team captain in praising Mr. Snape's dueling prowess. However, he is also the young wizard's Spellwork instructor, and he cautiously stated, 'Mr. Snape may just be one of the most brilliant students I have ever taught. I'm definitely looking forward to having him remain for the coming school year...'
Mr. Prince-Snape, besides being a brilliant student and duelist, is also a generous benefactor. Although he has only recently come into his inheritance, the young Head of the Noble House of Prince is already credited with donations to many charitable organizations. These include but are not limited to the following: St. Mungo's Children's Ward, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Scholarship Fund, and The Widows and Orphans Outreach Program. [Full list of charitable donations, page 25]
The reporter ended with the following string of questions:
'If Mr. Prince-Snape is this generous, brilliant, and talented, then why has Wizarding Britain not heard of him before? Why do I ask this, you may wonder, Dear Reader? Because prior to transferring to America, Mr. Prince-Snape was enrolled in our own Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Why are we allowing our more talented young wizards to abandon Britain's Wizarding World, and instead, enrich another country's wizarding society? What have Headmaster Dumbledore and the Hogwarts Governing Board to say to this? Are we as a nation in danger of losing our next generation of wizarding talent? Inquiring minds want to know!'
oOo
"Lily! Are you all right, sweetheart?" Mrs. Evans' voice sounded like it was coming from a long tunnel. "Lily…what is it?"
Wordlessly, Lily handed her mother the paper with Severus' pictures and accompanying story. Violet's eyes widened at the captions, her eyebrows traveling higher and higher as she read the story.
"Oh, my…he's in America? Why didn't he tell us?" Mrs. Evans asked worriedly. She passed the paper to her husband to read it and then finally handed it over to Petunia. She read it and sighed, knowing that Lily was not taking the revelation of Severus' summer activities well. Petunia looked sympathetically at her sister before speaking.
"Lily, at least now you know the truth. He isn't attending some clandestine Death Biter meeting with What's-His-Name. He's going to summer school in America...and apparently taking part in dueling contests." She shrugged at her parents' worried looks. "It's what practically passes for normal around here, nothing weird or freaky about it—except for the dueling part." She grimaced. "Seriously, dueling? Is that even legal?"
Lily blinked rapidly, refusing to be moved to more tears. Severus had left the country and hadn't seen fit to tell her. Could she blame him? Was she at fault? Was anyone? Didn't Severus have the right to follow his dreams—away from the daily harassments he faced at Hogwarts? Away from all the sneers and jeers aimed at him for being a Slytherin? An awkward bookworm, who was all arms and legs? A brilliant student who didn't suffer ignorant fools? For daring to exist in a world that also happened to have the Marauders in it?
'For having a best friend who wanted to fit in so badly that I turned my back on him when he most needed me,' she finished in self-chastisement. "I've lost him. He's left and he's found a place where he can be happy now." She looked up unhappily at her family. "He's gone."
"Oh, sweetheart, he isn't gone," Mrs. Evans said reassuringly. She reached across the table and gently squeezed her younger daughter's hand. "He's there for summer school. He'll be back."
"I don't think so, Mum," Lily said, shaking her head. "He's so brilliant and looks like the people over there can see it, too. The Hogwarts teachers barely acknowledge him except to look at him suspiciously, as if he's already joined up with You-Know-Who. And you should've heard Dumbledore. He said that Severus was lost as soon as he was sorted into Slytherin."
Petunia shook her head in confusion. "What's he talking about it? I mean, if I remember correctly, you were sorted into your Houses when you first got to Hogwarts, right? By a stupid hat of all things, and you were only eleven!"
"So, your headmaster believes that a magic hat has the ability to predict all future behavior on the part of a child when it decides what House would fit you best?" Mr. Evans shook his head in bemusement. "That is a serious condemnation of a quarter of the students in your school, and it's hardly fair. How can a person with such a low opinion of such a large percentage of the student population be allowed to remain as headmaster?"
"I don't know, Dad. But I do know that Sev often said that Slytherins were treated unfairly by the faculty in the classroom—rarely receiving a fair number of points and often losing them almost as soon as they got them. Of course, the Marauders attacking him with impunity was the worst, but I didn't really believe him, thinking he was imagining things."
"Well, if Severus is happy in the States, then we should be happy for him," Mrs. Evans declared. "That poor boy has suffered a lot of tragedy in just a short time. He deserves some happiness for a change. I'm only sorry he didn't trust us enough to tell us of his plans."
"I don't think that was the reason, Mum. It wasn't anything you said or did. It was me. I'm the one he didn't trust. I broke off our friendship and refused to talk to him for more than a year. And then James asked me out." Lily dropped her eyes in shame. "It wasn't even a real date, but Sev saw us together, and as usual, they were harassing him." She shrugged. "He didn't even give me a chance to explain. He just said goodbye and disapparated."
"Well, you know what I think?" Petunia asked. "I think that now that you know where he is, you should write him and tell him whatever it is you wanted to tell him before he left." She gave her sister a long, hard look. "If you really care about someone, Lily, you don't give up without a fight. Write him."
"But what if he doesn't reply? What then?" Lily asked. She looked at each of her family members, searching their eyes for some form of comfort or advice.
"Then you try again, sweetheart," Mr. Evans said. "Do you think I would have easily given up if your mum had decided not to say 'yes' when I asked her to marry me?"
"Did she?" Lily asked, momentarily distracted by this bit of unexpected news.
"Well, no," Mr. Evans admitted with a grin. "But then, I'm a handsome devil and an excellent catch." His three girls all laughed and threw handy napkins at him.
"Lily, you didn't talk to Snape for a whole year. One letter will probably not solve the problem," Petunia said, not unkindly but definitely not very gently.
"But it's a start," Mrs. Evans added, glaring at her eldest daughter for her perceived insensitivity. "In fact, perhaps I shall write him as well to give him a piece of my mind. I told that young man that he's family. Whatever happened between you two does not trump how your father and I feel about him." She glanced fondly at her husband as she spoke. "He was the son I never gave you."
Mr. Evans had the grace to blush in embarrassment. "He was the only one who would attend the Victory football games with me." He grinned sheepishly, referring to his favorite English football team, the Victory.
"Dad, those weren't football games. They were ritualistic suicides, and the Victory should've been banned by the Northeast League ages ago," Petunia snarked.
"Yes, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, 'Never in the field of human conflict have so few lost to so many'!" Lily teased.
"Ouch! That hurt!" Mr. Evans cried, holding his hands to his heart. "Truthfully, I enjoyed Severus' company more than the games themselves." He chuckled in reminiscence. "He couldn't have been much older than ten the first time I took him to a game. I was trying to explain the rules to him and what a goal was. He turned those adorable dark eyes on me and asked me seriously, 'Mr. Evans why isn't the team with the gold eagle on their shirts kicking the ball into the white netting like the other team?' I didn't have the heart to tell him that in the 15 years I had been attending the games, the Victory had never once scored a goal." He grinned sheepishly at the others' whoops of laughter.
"Sev told me once that even though he thought it was silly that your team kept running all over the field chasing the ball, but never managing to score a single goal, he enjoyed attending the games with you," Lily said softly. "He felt that he could imagine that's how a real father and son were supposed to act. He never spoke about it again."
Mrs. Evans dabbed at her eyes and sniffled. "That's it! I'm writing Severus this instant. Lily, you'll have to post it for me when you go to Diagon Alley." Pausing thoughtfully, she then said, "Perhaps it's time that we purchased an owl for you, Lily. It would make staying in touch much easier, I believe." The others nodded in agreement. "We'll look into post owls when we go this year to buy your supplies for school."
Lily also sat down and wrote a letter, hoping that Severus would at least read it before blasting it with an Incendio. When she was closing, Petunia surprised her by adding a postscript.
She glared at Lily's surprised look. "What?" she demanded. "He was an annoying charity boy when we were kids, but if Dad and Mum think of him as a son, then I guess I have to think of him as an annoying little brother." She crossed her arms defensively. "But he's still a prat." With that she headed upstairs to get dressed, leaving her younger sister smiling after her.
oOo
Author's Note: Sorry again for the long wait in between updates. Same old excuse...RL demands its pound of flesh, and sadly, I do bleed when I'm cut.
Acknowledgements: As always—a special thanks goes to Alethea27, for beta'ing my story.
Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter and the characters inhabiting it belong to J.K. Rowling. This story does not intend any copyright infringement.
Copyright: 2015